It is the morning of the reaping that will kick off the 10th annual Hunger Games. In the Capitol, 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow is preparing for his one shot at glory as a mentor in the Games. The once-mighty house of Snow has fallen on hard times, its fate hanging on the slender chance that Coriolanus will be able to out charm, outwit, and outmaneuver his fellow students to mentor the winning tribute.

The odds are against him. He’s been given the humiliating assignment of mentoring the female tribute from District 12, the lowest of the low. Their fates are now completely intertwined – every choice Coriolanus makes could lead to favor or failure, triumph or ruin. Inside the arena, it will be a fight to the death. Outside the arena, Coriolanus starts to feel for his doomed tribute… and must weigh his need to follow the rules against his desire to survive no matter what it takes. 

I was so incredibly excited to re-enter the world of Panem. The Hunger Games made up a lot of my childhood, and I still think of Katniss, Peeta, and the rest of the characters we grew to know and love and all of the things they taught me often. I was as surprised as most of the YA community to hear that this prequel was to be centered around President Snow. He is an antagonist so vile and irredeemable that it left us all scratching our heads, trying to figure out what we could be missing that warranted a whole book of his own. I am very happy to say that this book exceeded all my expectations and gave dimension to the man we all loved to hate. I think some fans may have been worried about possible redemption, but to me this book was the origin story of a boy lost to circumstance and the heady scent of power through control.

Coriolanus Snow is a teenager, nearing graduation in the Capitol. He struggles under the guise of wealth and will do anything to save his family’s reputation. The truth of it, however, is that he lives with his grandmother and his cousin; his mother and father having been killed during the uprising of the districts, and money is running out. His only escape is going to be receiving high honors at school and having his way paid by Dean Highbottom, who clearly shows dislike of the bright boy. So when mentors are chosen to look after the tributes in the 10th Annual Hunger Games, Corio is foaming at the mouth to prove his worth. This all goes sideways as he receives the girl from District 12, or so he thinks. A match that was meant to send him into a spiral makes more and more sense every day from the Reaping (where the girl flings a poisonous snake down another’s dress) to the bitter end. The two get closer than anyone would have thought possible, and Corio risks a lot for this girl; his musical Lucy Gray.

When everything is said and done, we have gotten a glimpse at how primitive the Games used to be. Yes, in the Panem we know and love, the Games are still barbaric and heartwrenching, but these are brutal; with no food or water being given to the Tributes and having them all thrown into first a zoo, and then an abandoned coliseum for the actual Games. There is no pomp, no circumstance, and it is less of a sport and more of a war. We see how even as a student, Corio changes things within the games, little nuggets here and there that will make them into the bright and ostentatious show we see in later years. Corio defines himself as someone capable of love and friendship, but with an underlying need for control and acceptance. We see what happens to him after the games end, which is actually where his life begins. He faces hard decisions, death, and a chance at a new life– but all of these things culminate into him slowly unraveling.

What we end up seeing in Snow is the effects of trauma. He lived through a war, lost both of his parents, and grew up as the nation was rebuilding itself in the worst way possible. He was surrounded by teachers on drugs, people in power who had clearly lost their minds, and a disconnect between himself and the lives of others. He was told from a very young age that ‘Snow lands on top’, and this mantra led him through his book and on to his presidency with a self-assured attitude that numbs every other true feeling he might have. Did this redeem Coriolanus Snow? No. It does, however, help him become a person in your mind, rather than just a villain. I loved seeing his gradual descent into madness, and I’m ready to reread and rewatch the original series so that I can see the man he grew up to be once more. I know there’s been some discourse about this novel, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

5/5 stars